


Animal Whisperer

by riffruff



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Fire Emblem Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Python is there for like a second, Tobin really likes kittens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:01:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27821161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/riffruff/pseuds/riffruff
Summary: Berkut volunteers at the animal shelter that Tobin works at. Tobin helps Berkut with some dog feeding, and Python is an ass for just a moment.
Relationships: Berkut/Robin | Tobin
Kudos: 3





	Animal Whisperer

**Author's Note:**

> Not super sure how happy I am with this, but it's still pretty cute I think? I'm doing my best--tagging also eludes me to some extent

Berkut’s heart was beating in his ears. He’d only been volunteering at the animal shelter for around a week, but one of their employees had already caught his eye. He didn’t really know how to act around this boy, especially seeing how well he got along with all of the animals.

Tobin, with a kitten on his shoulder, was taking a small dog out of one of the kennels. He smiled a little bit, then started laughing as the dog licked his face. He didn’t seem to have any fear or awkwardness around the animals. Berkut was almost jealous. Maybe it was just because he hadn’t been working there for too long, but he felt like the animals were all wary of him.

As Berkut fed the animals he was assigned to feed, he had to keep track of the ones that weren’t eating. He’d continue to turn and look over his shoulder at Tobin, though. He almost looked magical sometimes, always having at least one animal either near or on him.

For most of the day, though, there was one particular kitten on him. She was around six months old, and bright orange. Her eyes were blue, and she mewled every time she stumbled when Tobin would move too fast. He apologized and scratched her head every time. Berkut was almost ashamed of the fact that he found that absolutely adorable.

Then came the daily struggle of being a feeder at that shelter: Buddy, a food-aggressive dog. His exact breed was unknown, as he looked like a mix of several, and Berkut hardly managed to feed him every day. Today in particular, he really didn’t feel up to it. Luckily, Tobin was coming by that area.

“Hey, uh, Tobin?” Berkut tried to get his coworker’s attention. Tobin turned and looked at him, a little confused. They hadn’t talked much, and while Tobin wouldn’t act like it, he did notice Berkut staring sometimes. 

“What’s up?” He approached with the ginger kitten still on his shoulders.

“I need a little help.” Berkut said it reluctantly, looking down at Buddy. “I don’t really trust myself to be able to feed Buddy today, I don’t think he likes me.” He almost felt lazy asking for help, but Tobin didn’t seem to mind.

“Oh! That’s fine, let me show you something! Here, hold her for me.” Tobin pulled his feline friend off of his shoulders, handing her over to Berkut. He held her and pet her gently as he watched Tobin.

Buddy growled at Tobin when he went to open the kennel door, but Tobin just continued, pretending not to notice. Buddy quieted down a bit, and then Tobin praised him. “Good boy.” He looked up at Berkut as if to tell him to remember that, before going in and giving Buddy new food. He offered his hand for sniffing to see if maybe Buddy would like some petting, but was denied by a snarl. Backing off, Tobin shut the kennel door and then stood back up.

“Thanks for holding onto Fireball for me.” Tobin reached to take back the kitten. Berkut laughed a little.

“Fireball?” He questioned.

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking about taking her home. I think that’s a cute name for her.” Tobin grinned.

“You’re not wrong.” Berkut chuckled. He was very amused by Tobin’s display of affection with his little Fireball.

“You really think so?” Tobin looked up at Berkut, earning a nod.

“Of course. Now, I think we should get back to work.” He said, then receiving a thumbs up from Tobin. He returned it a bit awkwardly before they parted ways.

From that day forward, they started to meet up for Buddy’s feeding. Berkut was slowly learning how to make the dog trust him, all the while trying to convince Tobin to adopt Fireball already.

“I’m just worried about how well she’d get along with my dog.” Tobin protested each time.

“You’re like an animal whisperer, I’m sure you could make it work.” Berkut refuted. Tobin would get flustered each time he was called that, but he really did like it.

Another couple of weeks had gone by before Tobin finally decided to bring Fireball into his family. Berkut noticed this when Tobin came to work and didn’t spend the whole day with her on his shoulders.

“So, animal whisperer,” Berkut started as he approached Tobin, “you make it work with Fireball?” He put his hand on the shorter boy’s shoulder. Tobin found himself turning a little red.

“Yeah. As it turns out, my dog really likes her.” He was about to let it slide, but then he realized the nickname that Berkut had adopted for him. “W-Wait… animal whisperer?”

“Yeah, that’s you.” Berkut chuckled softly. Tobin wanted to protest, but when he thought about it, he could absolutely see why Berkut said that. The two stood in silence for a moment. Neither of them broke it for a little while.

In truth, they were looking at each other, almost trying to figure out what the other was thinking. Tobin wondered if it would be too straightforward to invite Berkut over to meet his dog, while Berkut wondered if it would be the same to ask if he could. Of course, they weren’t the only two working there. One of Tobin’s close friends at the shelter, Python, had approached to give him a shove.

“Just kiss him already.” He spat playfully, then leaving when Tobin went red-faced and began to sputter. Berkut looked pretty confused at that exchange, leaving Tobin to have to explain himself.

“So, uh… yeah.” Tobin laughed awkwardly.

“What was that all about?” Berkut tried to keep calm, but his face was a little red.

“I  _ told _ him not to tell you, that I’d do it myself,” Tobin acted a little dramatic, but stopped in time to say, “but I really do like you. A lot.” They both paused. Berkut started up again first.

“Maybe I can come over later, then? Meet your dog, sort this out…” He was almost a little bit awkward. Tobin laughed quietly.

“Sure.” Neither of them could help but smile.

“Thanks, animal whisperer.” Berkut said, planting a single peck on Tobin’s forehead before turning to go get some more work done before the day ended. Tobin just stood there for a moment, his heart then racing. Two words were on his mind.

_ Animal whisperer. _


End file.
